Radio tube socket



Nov. 6, 1962 E. J. CARON ET AL 3,063,033

RADIO TUBE SOCKET Filed March 19. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG 3' FIG. 5.

INVENTORS EUGENE J. CARON 8| BY GEORGE W. CARTER ATTORNEYS Nov. 6, 1962E. J. CARON ET AL 3,053,033

RADIO TUBE SOCKET Filed March 19, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F I G. H.

INVENTORS EUGENE J. CARON BY GEORGE W. CAR

ATTORNEYS United States Patent OfiFice 3,063,033 Patented Nov. 6, 19623,063,033 RADIO TUBE SOCKET Eugene J. Caron, Collingswood, and George W.Carter,

Harrington, N.J., assignors to Radio Condenser Company, Camden, N.J., acorporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 19, 1957, Ser. No. 647,059 7Claims. (61. 339-182) Ths invention relates to radio tube sockets andparticularly to sockets for tubes of very small size.

There have been recently developed radio tubes of generally cylindricalshape having lengths of the order of one-half inch with overalldiameters of the order of three-eighths to one-half inch, such tubesbeing well adapted for inclusion in circuits occupying a minimum ofspace. In particular, they are adapted for use in ultrahigh frequencycircuits. It would be evident that the utility of such tubes dependsupon the possibility of mounting them in sockets of correspondinglysmall size in which they may be properly held in removable fashion forreplacement.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide socketconstruction for such tubes which are in themselves very compact and towhich direct connections may be readily made, the latter beingparticularly important in ultrahigh frequency circuits. The foregoingand other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation and FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of atypical tube of the type for which an improved socket is provided inaccordance with the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of a socket for the reception of the tubeof FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevation of the left hand contact member shown inFIGURE 3 looking at the left side thereof as viewed in that figure;

FIGURE 5 is an end elevation of the right contact member of FIGURE 3viewed from the right hand side thereof;

in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is an elevation looking at the right hand contact of thesocket as viewed from the right in FIGURE 9; and

FIGURE 12 is a section taken on the plane indicated at 12 12 in FIGURE9.

Referring first to FIGURES 1 to 6, inclusive, a typical tube isindicated at 2 which is provided with a ceramic envelope 4 having at itsleft hand end a metallic button 6 which provides the anode connection.At its right hand end as viewed in FIGURE 1 a pair of buttons 8 providethe heater connections. Within groves in the body are metallic rings 10and 12 providing, respectively, grid and cathode connections. The tubeillustrated in FIGURE 1 has an overall length of approximately one-halfinch.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided the socketshown in FIGURE 3 which comprises an insulating rod '14 of steatite orvitreous alumina, though it may consist of other insulating material. Onthis red 14 there are deposited by one of the usual metalizing processesrings 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 which are desirably tinned to facilitatesoldering. These rings are separated as illustrated so as to beinsulated from each other.

The left hand ring 16 is provided for attachment by soldering of thesocket in a supporting chassis and the same is true of the right handend portion of the ring 24. The rings 16 and 24 may be continued bymetal discs on the ends of the rod 14 so that they take the form ofmetal caps. Thus, the socket itself may be rigidly supported.

A left hand contact member indicated generally at 26 is formed of a flatsheet of metal, desirably silver plated as are the other metallicconductive contact elements of the socket. This contact member hasseveral elemental portions of which the lowermost portion 28 is providedwith an opening 30 provided by punching an extrusion to form a flange 32arranged to fit over and to be soldered to the metallic ring 18. At 34there is a transverse bend between the portion 28 and the portion 36,the latter being provided with an extruded inwardly projecting dimple38. Another bend indicated at 40 delimits the lower edge of a portion 42which is directed outwardly to provide a deflecting cam action uponinsertion of the tube. The contact member 26 is of a spring metal, suchas beryllium copper.

The right hand contact member indicated generally at 44 is rathersimilar to the member 26 and of similar spring metal, having itslowermost portion 46 provided with an opening 48 extruded to provide aflange 50 which fits upon and is arranged to be soldered to the metallicring or cap 24. A bend 52 delimits the upper end of the portion 46 andabove it the contact member is bifurcated by a slit 54 to provideindividual spring portions 56 which are provided with bends 69 beyondwhich the end portions 62 are deflected outwardly for camming engagementby the heater buttons 8 of the tube. Each of the portions 56 is providedwith an opening 64 in which there is pressed an insulating fitting 66,formed, for example, of Teflon and provided with a flange 68 arranged toabut and limit outward movement of the fitting. Within each fittingthere is fitted a metallic contact pin 70 provided with a head '72rounded for engagement by a corresponding button 8.

Associated with the rings 20 and 22 are clip members 74 which may be ofidentical form and which are arranged to engage the rings 10 and 12 ofthe tube. The form of each of these will be evident from FIGURE 6. Eachcomprises a spring wire, e.g. piano wire silver plated, bent at 76 toprovide upwardly extending legs 78 which are bent to provide circulararc portions 80 to embrace and be soldered to the rings 20 and 22. Thelegs then continue upwardly and are bent at 82 outwardly throughsomewhat more than a right angle to provide seats. They are then bentinwardly at 84 to provide side portions 86 and then further inwardly toprovide engaging portions 88 which are spaced by less than the diametersof the rings 10 and 12. At their free ends the legs are evertedoutwardly at 90 to provide for a cam spreading action during insertionof the tube. The wire used for each of the members 74 has a diameterslightly less than the width of the grooves in which the rings 10 and 12of the tube are located.

The contact members 28, 74 and 46 are soldered to their respective ringswith the socket taking the final form indicated in FIGURE 3 when a tubeis absent. The lower ends of the contact elements may be soldered towires or other connecting elements of the desired circuit. As will benoted in comparing FIGURES 1 and 3, these figures being to the samescale, the spacing between the dimple 38 and each of the contact heads72 is less than the overall distance between the faces of the buttons 6and 8, though the outer ends of the portions 42 and 62 of the outermostcontact members are more widely spaced. Accordingly, if the tube 2 ispressed downwardly the end contact members are forced apart and at thesame time the legs of the contact members 74 are spread apart so thatthe tube may finally rest in a position in which it is endwisecompressed between the dimple 38 and the contact heads 7?. andtransversely between the legs of the contact members 72. Inward movementof the tube is limited by the resting of the rings 1% and 12. on theseats provided by the bends 82, the tube being urged downwardly againstthese seats by the portions of the legs below the bends 88 which tend tospring in- Wardly to provide a downward camming action. The Wires ofthese legs are of such diameter that they are received freely within thegrooves in which the rings it) and 12 lie. Thus, good electricalcontacts are provided for the grid and cathode connections. Good springcontacts are also provided against the buttons 6 and 3. tube is thusquite rigidly clamped in position but may be easily removed by pullingthe tube outwardly, the various spring actions providing yieldingmovements of the contact members to permit such removal.

It will be evident that there is thus provided a socket of very smalldimensions comparable with those of the tube itself so that a minimumspace is required for the tube-socket assembly.

It will be evident that the socket construction may vary with theelectrode arrangement of the tube. For example, if the tube is a diodehaving an indirectly located cathode, the ring in may be missing and thecorresponding spring clip member 74 may be omitted. Or double contactsmay be provided at the left hand end of the tube corresponding to thoseat the right hand end and these may provide all 'of the externalterminals of the tube. Then the contact arrangement at 44 could beprovided at both ends of the socket, one of the contacts such as '74being provided solely to locate the tube laterally and arrangedasymmetrically with respect to the end contacts to insure placement ofthe tube in proper position.

The general socket construction which has been described is alsoapplicable to another type of tube 92 which is illustrated in FEGURES 7and 8 and which comprises the ceramic body 9%, a button $6 providing ananode connection w ich has an extension 93, a pair of heater connectionbuttons 1%, and flanges 162 and which provide grid and cathodeconnections. The socket for this type of tube is illustrated in FIGURE 9and comprises the insulating rod 1% which may be of steatite, vitreousalumina, or other insulating material on which are provided the ringsI198, 119, 112, 114, and 116 of the type previously described, the rings1% and 116 being desirably continued over the ends of the rod to providecaps. The left hand contact member 118 is essentially the same as thecontact member 26 previously described though it is provided with a slot126) to receive the button extension 93. The right hand contact member122, may be identical with the right hand contact member 44 previouslydescribed. The intermediate contact members 1124 take a form suitablefor engagement with the flanges 162 and 164 of the tube. For thispurpose they are desirably formed of silver plated spring sheet metal,each being doubled back on itself at the tabs 126 which provide for themaking of external soldered connections. The contact members areprovided with circular openings 128 for reception of, and soldering to,the rings 112 and 114. Bifurcation is provided at 130 to provideoutwardly and upwardly diverted portions 132 which are desirablyembossed as indicated at 134 to provide good wiping contacts. The outerends 136 are everted to permit camming spring action as the tube isinserted. Paired dimples 137 are provided near the ends of the portions132. When the tube is inserted, the end contact members 113 and 122 aresprung outwardly as previously described and the fianges 102 and dengage and defiect apart portions 132 of the contact members 124. Finalseating of the tube occurs when the body 94 rests on the ledges providedat 138. Friction due to the spring action of the various contact membersand location .of the flanges M2 and 164 The inwardly of dimples thensecurely holds the tube in position though it may be readily removed bypulling it outwardly. It will be noted that the members 124 are ofdifferent lengths so that when the tube is inserted the differentdiameter flanges lie just inside the paired dimples 137. Good electricalcontact is provided by the wiping action of the embossings. By this formof socket as in the case of that shown in FIGURE 3, there is provided asmall tube-socket assembly which is highly reliable in holding the tubein position while maintaining good connections to the electrodes. Thesoldering of the various contact members to their mounting ringsprovides a rigid construction particularly maintained by the extrudedflanges of the end contact members. The intermediate contact members 74and 124 do not require any special flanging, soldering being sufiicientto hold them in posi tion since the end members prevent the imparting tothem through insertion and removal of the tube of any considerabledisturbing forces.

It will be evident that various details of construction may be modifiedwithout departing from the invention to take care of special forms oftubes. For example, if a single tube contains both flanges and contactmembers set in grooves, there may be used suitable combinations of innercontact members as shown in the two modifications of the invention whichhave been described. Furthermore, different dispositions of the contactmembers of the socket may be made to accommodate various externalterminal connections of tubes, for example, as pointed out in connectionwith first described modification. The insulating member 14 or 106 ofthe socket may, of course, be non-circular, e.g., rectangular. It isaccordingly to be understood that the invention is not to be regarded aslimited except as required by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tube socket comprising an elongated member of insulating material,end spring contact members secured to said elongated member, and atleast one intermediate contact member secured to said elongated memberbetween said end members, said intermediate contact member beingprovided with opposed leg portions embracing said elongated member andopposed leg portions adapted for embracing a tube and making contactwith a tube electrode, said spring contact members being oppositelydisposed for contact with the ends of a tube embraced by saidintermediate contact member to limit longitudinal movement thereofrelative to said elongated member, said intermediate contact memberprojecting from said elongated member to define a terminal forelectrical connection.

2. A tube socket as defined in claim 1 wherein the tube embracing legportions and the elongated member embracing leg portions are adapted formounting said tube and member in laterally spaced fixed relation to oneanother.

3. A tube socket comprising an elongated member of insulating material,end spring contact members secured to said elongated member, and atleast one intermediate contact member secured to said elongated memberbe tween said end members, said intermediate contact member beingprovided with opposed leg portions embracing said elongated member andopposed leg portions adapted for embracing a tube and making contactwith a tube electrode, said spring contact members being oppositelydisposed for contact with the ends of a tube embraced by saidintermediate contact member to limit longitudinal movement thereofrelative to said elongated member, said intermediate contact memberprojecting from said elongated member to define a terminal forelectrical connection, said elongated member being one continuous lengthof a cylindrical rod having axially spaced metalized surface areas towhich said contact members are soldered.

4. A tube socket comprising an elongated member of .insulating material,end spring contact members secured to said elongated member, and atleast one intermediate contact member secured to said elongated memberbetween said end members, said intermediate contact member beingbifurcated for reception of a tube and arranged to make electricalcontact with a tube electrode, at least one of said spring contactmembers being bifurcated and having mounted upon each furcation thereofa terminal-engaging pin projected therethrough and insulated therefrom,the corresponding inner ends of said pins being fully exposed.

5. A tube socket as defined in claim 1 wherein the intermediate contactmember is formed of spring metal, and including two pairs of opposedlegs having embossings thereon, said embossings on each pair of opposedlegs facing each other.

6. A tube socket comprising an elongated member of insulating material,end spring contact members secured to said elongated member, and atleast one intermediate contact member secured to said elongated memberbetween said end members, sa-id intermediate contact member beingprovided with opposed leg portions embracing said elongated member andopposed leg portions adapted for embracing a tube and making contactwith a tube electrode, and last-named leg portions being constructed tourge an embraced tube toward said elongated member.

7. A tube socket as claimed in claim 6 wherein said end spring contactmembers are constructed to urge an embraced tube toward said elongatedmember.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS925,452 Brown June 22, 1909 998,895 Harvey July 25, 1911 1,439,429 LyhneDec. 19, 1922 1,608,578 Buchenberg Nov. 30, 1926 1,845,047 Holland Feb.16, 1932 2,016,470 White Oct. 8, 1935 2,397,985 Schrieir'er Apr. 9, 19462,405,554 Barbour Aug. 13, 1946 2,462,622 Farrow Feb. 22, 1949 2,473,526Hood et al June 21, 1949 2,478,887 Nelson Aug. 9, 1949 2,836,807Goodfellow et al. May 27, 1958 2,965,873 Sindelar Dec. 20, 1960 OTHERREFERENCES February 1957

